Anti-LGBTQ family who fled to Russia regret choice as locals don't speak English

24 February 2024 , 06:28

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A conservative, homophobic Christian family who fled Canada to move to Russia over Canada's LGBTQ ideologies now regret that decision (Image: countrysideacres /Instagram)

A family who fled Canada for Russia to escape so-called LGBTQ ideology now say they regret their decision as locals don't speak English.

Arend and Anneesa Feenstra couldn't stand the "woke" LGBTQ ideology being thrown in their faces everywhere they went in the small, rural town in Ontario, Canada, where they were living. So, the couple packed their bags, grabbed their eight children and moved to Russia, where they hoped things would be better for them.

The couple has now come to regret their decision. Though Russia has some of the strictest anti-gay laws in the world, the family has encountered lots of other problems in the rural farming town in which they now reside. After selling their Canadian farm, the couple has been unable to access the money from it, as their new Russian banks have dubbed the funds "suspicious," the Daily Mail reported. To make matters worse, no one in the family speaks Russian, so they've been unable to communicate with banking authorities who don't speak English or with locals, who also don't speak their language.

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Life in Russia has been tough for the Feenstras, who don't speak Russian and who had difficulties shifting their Canadian funds over to their Russian banks (AFP via Getty Images)

The difficulties the couple has faced led Anneesa to post a video to the family's YouTube Channel, Countryside Acres, in which she ranted about the language barrier, the money issues and lots of other things she said have gone wrong since the family arrived in the Eastern European country.

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But the Kremlin reportedly didn't like that. Russia is not a country that protects free speech, and government officials weren't happy with the video that shed such a negative light on their country, imploring the couple to take it down — which they did.

Anneesa allegedly said: "I'm ready to jump on a plane and get out of here. We've hit the first snag where you have to engage logic in this country, and it's very, very frustrating." She added that she was "very disappointed in this country at this point."

Arend then took to the couple's channel to post an apology video and explanation for the rant in which he said that the couple's thoughts and opinions "aren't always conveyed properly."

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Another video posted on Feb. 11 (the rant video had been posted on Feb. 2) provided a follow-up to the family's situation, with Arend and Anneesa stating that the money they had received from the farm sale was not frozen any longer and that they had overcome some of the adversity they faced and were not happy about living in Russia "for the long haul."

Putin recently enacted a law banning any public support for gay people in Russia (Getty Images)

It remains to be seen, however, whether the family will remain happy in Russia. But Arend seems to think the move was the right decision for them in the long run, as it got the hyper-Christian family away from "left-wing ideology, LGBTQ, trans" and other things they felt their kids should stay away from.

"Canada is not the same country it used to be," Arend said in a press conference, the Mail Online reported. "We didn't feel safe with our children there and for the future." He added: "We wanted to get away from that for our children. But also, for economic reasons, the farming has better opportunities. We felt that Russia was the best."

Arend also believes in Putin and his push to "stand up against Western pressures." The family's move comes just a couple of years after Russia passed a law banning any public displays of support for gay people Arend reportedly received aid from Russian officials who helped the family relocate, and he encouraged other families in Canada and the US to follow suit and come with them, stating that "there's tons of land and opportunity" in the country, specifically for Christians and conservatives like him and his family.

The Feenstras are farmers, and Arend, the patriarch, believes Russia has better farming opportunities (countrysideacres /Instagram)

The family reportedly cited freedom as one of their main aims in moving to Russia, but many viewers were concerned that the family didn't properly understand the meaning of freedom given Russia's score on the freedom index compared to Canada and the US. Others urged the couple to think again before they complain about their new home country, citing multiple arrests in recent months and years for such comments.

Russia has a freedom index score, a number compiled by Freedom House, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding democracy around the world, of just 16 out of 100, with lots of media censorship and limited access to most of the internet.

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Regardless, the Feenstras say their in Russia to stay, but time will tell whether or not they actually do — it seems at this stage that their hardships are proving too difficult for them, even as the family starts learning rudimentary Russian.

Jeremiah Hassel